Artificial Intelligence and Robotics blog
Awesome-o
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Posts by Awesome-o
The Telenoid R1 telepresence robot
Aug 9th
The creepy designs of some robots is often noted and satirized upon, but sometimes the creators know full well what type of “creature” they are building. Japan’s ATR and Osaka University have collaborated to create the Telenoid R1, a ghost-like robot that takes on the presence of another user from another location communicating through it.
Telepresence robots are not something new, but often they rely on a computer screen or something of the sort where you can see the other person. The Telenoid R1, however, is basically a large, skin-color torso with rounded stubs for arms and legs, and a featureless face that seems to be staring at you with eyes from the beyond. Many have compared it to Casper the ghost, but that gaze is far from anything resembling friendly or happy.
Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, who worked on the robot, has revealed that despite the design, Telenoid R1 is not actually intended to spook its owners. The shape of the body and the featureless face allows the user trying to communicate through it to beam in his own voice and gestures through the robot, almost as if taking control of its body. This allows men and women, young and old to be able to use it, and the person talking with the Telenoid R1 will “eventually” warm-up to the idea that this machine is a manifestation of their friend (of sorts).
Looking at it from this angle, it is a pretty neat idea. I’m not sure to what extent people will be able to overlook the bald head or stubbed limbs and imagine their girlfriend or something, but who knows. The old guy in the video sure seems to be having a blast. Perhaps the scariest thing about this 10-pound silicon bot is the price – starting out at $35,000.
We’ve moved
Aug 6th
Hi,
as you can probably tell, we have moved our AI and Robotics blog from smart-machines.blogspot.com to our new domain RobotZeitgeist.com.
Hopefully, we did not break anything in the process and everything should work just fine.
If you are an RSS or email subscriber, then you should have to do nothing to continue receiving the newest articles. If by any chance you stop receiving them, let us know.
Cheers!
CRAB super-enforcer to be launched in London…sometime this century
Aug 6th
This just in:
The advanced robotics technology behind the C.R.A.B.’s artificial intelligence have been secretly developed over the past 12 years as a joint venture between weapons manufacturer Dalton/Stanley and megacorporation Omni Consumer Products.The results of their historical collaboration has been to produce the most advanced robotic defence system ever constructed, featuring next-generation weaponry and armour protection. The C.R.A.B. is set to pave the way for all future Police and Military automaton technology from here onwards, and will be found on patrol in the public domain very soon.
Well, ok – the above is a bit of a fictionalized look into the future, but it is based on a real concept – the C.R.A.B. (Cybernetic Autonomous Remote Barricade) robot, which is basically a giant crab-like machine that could one day help out the police in keeping the streets safe. The quote is from the website of Jamie Martin, who came up with the design. The artist charted out all its features, which include artificial intelligence that lets it distinguish between allies and enemies, impulse cannons, and gas for subduing crowds. Not only that, but he also beat everyone to the punch and made a video of a worst-case scenario, in which the robot tears through the streets of London in a rouge frenzy.
It really does seem like he thought of everything – now all that’s needed is the funding to start building this thing. And perhaps some fail-safe technology to make sure the situation in the video doesn’t happen. In any case, it’s good and/or scary to know we have such imaginative minds working hard to ensure the future of robotics. Martin is also behind the Cobra Venom V8 car design, which can be viewed along with the C.R.A.B. at his website.
Obligatory video follows.
Robots performing surgery with full autonomy
Jul 30th
Robotic arms have been used in medical procedures for a while now, providing surgeons a level of steadiness and precision that few human hands can replicate. Now, however, things are moving forward to a future where these robot arms will be able to perform such operations almost entirely on their own.
At the present we are only talking about biopsies, or dealing with dead patients. A safe way to start, but scientists at the Duke University in North Carolina have already seen these robots achieve a 93% success rate when cutting into prostate tissue. A dead turkey, whose flesh has a similar texture to humans, was used in the experiments. The robotic arms used ultrasound to locate the exact placement of the organs, and then took real-time 3D information which told them what to do next.
The leader of the team, Professor Stephen Smith, explained that the next test they will undertake is to try out the arm on a human mannequin. This dummy will have a “stiff bra cup” with a grape embedded inside, to mimic a cancerous lesion. The robot’s job will be to remove this lesion while following correct medical procedure and saving the person’s life (theoretically). One of the main problems that will need to be addressed is improving the robots’ speed when it comes to obtaining and processing the data from the ultrasounds, but a more powerful processor and a more effective algorithm can help overcome this challenge.
The professor is hopeful that success in these tests will pave the way for a lot more robots doing surgeries on their own, not just biopsies. This would save patients time and money, which is one of the biggest problems in the healthcare industry today. Hopefully, they’ll be able to offer some type of medical guarantee as well.
A brief video showing a medical robot undergoing trials follows.
[source]
Autom the weight-loss robot counts your food
Jul 27th
Anyone who has tried losing weight will tell you having a personal trainer can make all the difference. Besides watching your diet and giving you suggestions, simply having a partner can also help you stay focused on the goals you set for yourself. Apparently, that partner doesn’t even have to be human.
Autom was created by Cory Kidd, who got the idea for a weight-loss robot during his time as a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab. He wanted to make “something that could have a very large benefit”, and this robot may just fit that category. To use Autom, you must first enter your diet plan, which includes how many calories of what you plan on taking, and how much exercise you plan on doing. The robot keeps track of that information and reminds you (with speech) on a daily basis how good or bad you are doing.
What makes this different from just a lifeless computer monitor is that Autom offers encouragement to users, motivating them to work harder and not to give up. Besides being able to talk, Autom can move her little head, blink her eyes and respond to the mood of each user. Work is still being done on the facial-recognition software, which would allow the robot to tell apart different people. All this is a psychological strategy used to influence the user, as people will feel like they are communicating more with a person than a computer. It is easy to say “I quit” and switch off a monitor, but it’s much harder when you know you have a partner that’s concerned for you and wants to talk.
Next year, Autom will be tested out by a major US insurance company, and if things go well, plans are to start using her on a wide-scale basis.
[source]
Robots answer battle-call for South Korea
Jul 25th
That’s right – these machines are not just there for surveillance, they can actually engage in combat. Armed with K-4 machine guns and 40-mm automatic grenade launchers (!), they can do some damage too. Although they have not been deployed in large numbers yet, if they prove successful in the testing period, they may be sent to various islands around the border to watch for any suspicious activity. For now, they will be monitoring the Demilitarized Zone, the main buffer zone between the two countries.
These are the same robots developed by Samsung Techwin and we last reported about nearly 4 years ago. Watch a video of the SGR-AI robot in action.
To be clear, they automatically scan their parameters with state-of-the-art cameras and report back to the control base, but they can not fire on their own. Which can only be a good thing. If there is an approaching threat that needs to be immobilized, however, they can be ordered to fire and take care of it. One can only hope South Korea don’t get short on numbers in the control base as well, and leave these robots to take charge on their own.
While they may lack the practicality and mobility that makes humans still the best option for a surveillance job, the robots come with many advantages. They cost a hefty $350,000 each, but this saves training, salary, and other expanses that would have to be spent on a soldier. They can also be stationed for a very long time at one place and won’t have to be replaced often. Bit by bit, the robot armies are assembling.
[source]
Rex Bionics exoskeleton to help paraplegics improve their quality of life
Jul 20th
No, this is not an article about another robotic dinosaur recreated from bygone eras – instead, Rex is an interesting new breakthrough in the field of technology and medicine, that will allow people to see themselves walking again.
The project in question was developed by Rex Robotics, a New Zealand company, that had been working on this new robotic exoskeleton for 8 years. It recently unveiled the finished machine, and one of the first people to try it out was Hayden Allen, who used it to walk for the first time in five years after injuring his spinal cord. He shares his experiences in the video.
Rex, which is powered by a rechargeable battery and weighs 84 pounds, is basically two robotic legs that are custom-designed for each user, to provide the best possible balance and movement. People in wheelchairs who no longer possess the ability to walk can use it to get back that feeling and perform tasks that are hard to do on a wheelchair. Best of all, the exoskeleton is simple and easy to control. A joystick applies pressure to each leg and moves it forward in a timely and balanced fashion, achieving a steady pace. Strapping yourself onto it is also easy and requires no assistance from anyone else, which is also an important feature for many people.
Besides the simple joy of being able to see themselves walking again, Rex can also improve people’s health in the long-run. Being in a wheelchair for too long can reduce quality of life and bring about other diseases, something which can be avoided by regularly using Rex. While it can not completely replace a wheelchair, it will definitely give people a lot more options. Initially it will cost around $150,000 USD, which admittedly is a lot of money, but if it takes off, the price may drop in the future.
But talk is cheap so watch the device in action.
Swarm Quadrotors Team-up to lift logs
Jul 15th
Following up on the story of tree-perching robots swarming into forests to watch for fires, now we can see what similar flying robots can do when working together. This time we’re talking about autonomous quadrotors (four-rotor aircraft), which are rather larger and heavier, and can combine efforts to lift logs and other heavy objects.
The 500 gram-robots each have 1250 grams of thrust, making them quite the powerful little things. Their grasping system, which allows them to safely attach themselves to objects, was designed by the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab of the University of Pennsylvania, which has contributed to a number of like-minded innovations in the past.
Removing heavy objects from the ground can have many practical purposes, but it also makes sure the mission will not be comprised should one or two robots experience mechanical failure, as there will be others to take their place. Greater distances could also be covered, as the robots will be able to recharge themselves while their partners continue flying. They won’t exactly be “wisping through the leaves” like the Swiss robots, but they will get the job done.
The video, where the quadrotors are operated by remote control, explains the different formations and purposes these flying robots can carry out. We also see how they can cooperate to balance their weight and lift up uneven objects, which is another impressive feat. The bots grasp, lift up, and then release the wooden boards quite effortlessly, but problem that stands out quite significantly is the noise. Whoever’s been watching the World Cup and is glad they won’t be hearing those vuvuzelas anymore – well, that buzz is back louder than ever before. I’m sure they’ll do something to address this problem though, as these are just innocent prototypes unsuspecting of the damage they do to our ears.
Enjoy the video of the robots in action below.
Kompott the astronaut-head to help the elderly
Jul 13th
Robot-makers are starting to wisen-up to the fact that bigger and better (or more complex) may not always be the best option when dealing with the elderly they are so determined to help. This is why students from the Zurich University of the Art’s Interaction Design lab in Switzerland came up with Kompott, the Robotic Agent, that is basically a monitor shaped like a head that can talk and do anything the latest mobile phones can do.
In design, Kompott looks like an astronaut’s head or helmet. It can twist its neck, recognize your voice, and repeat out-loud certain commands and instructions. I am not entirely convinced a detached head is less freaky than a walking humanoid, but the fact that this robotic agent doesn’t follow you around your house may make it a more acceptable option for many who aren’t fully prepared to delve into the latest in high-tech.
Another good thing about Kompott is that is very easy and simple to use. The touch screen interface allows its users to browse through videos or text massages, call other people, read out-loud text messages, as well as transcribe the user’s words back into text. Basically, anything you can imagine a phone can do, but in a manner that involves far fewer buttons, and has the bonus of a larger screen for people who can’t see very well. Is it worth the extra money? They’ll tell us, I suppose.
As an example, the video shows an old lady trying it out. She doesn’t seem too versed on such gadgets, but she uses the robot quite competently, which is precisely the goal of the whole thing. Kompott may not break any scientific grounds, but it’s hard to imagine how they come up with a more straight-forward and easier-to-use piece of technology.
Kompott video presentation follows.
[source]
RoboSUE: Jurassic Park…in Chicago
Jul 6th
There have been robo-dinosaur prototypes before, but nothing as cool as this very special exhibit that opened last month at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. Yes, it is an entire section created to bring to life the days of the dinosaurs, with their robotic clones roaring and trudging through their artificial environment.
The project combines the efforts of Japanese company Kokoro, who built the robotic bodies, and the artificial intelligence technology designed by KumoTek Robotics in Texas. Equipped with sensors, cameras, and the behavioral characteristics of their biological ancestors, the dino-bots behave in a very natural manner. They do not have a scripted routine, such as the dinos in Toys R Us shops for example, but instead rely on their sensors to interact with human visitors in different ways. They also respond to each other, which makes the experience seem even more real.
Of course, they haven’t made them too realistic, so that they don’t attack and try to eat people. They are even kid-friendly, as you see in the video a bunch of children laughing and touching one of the dino-bots, which responds to their actions. The star is RoboSUE, a 13-feet tall recreation of the T-Rex, which still remains king of the popular dinosaurs. The original Sue is one of the most complete T-Rex skeletons unearthed, at around 67-million years old.
The creator of the exhibit, Pete Makovicky, admitted that its not a perfect recreation of dinosaur behavior, as such a thing can not be learned from fossil record, but only theorized. Still, it will give visitors at least some understanding of how these creatures moved around. The exhibit will only be open for about four months, so anyone planning to see it should make good use of their summer.
Enjoy the scary video below.
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